The House To Act To Block Funding For War With Iran

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Rep. Ro Khanna said that he expects the House to act on his legislation to block any funding for a Trump war with Iran.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, “Senator Sanders and I have introduced a bill that would cut off any funding for any offensive action against Iran or Iranian officials. It’s important to note, Chris, that this bill was in the national defense authorization. Senator Sanders and I supported it. It passed the house. The majority of the senate was for it. That was a mistake, we need to correct that mistake and assert very clearly that Congress is simply not going to fund a war against Iran.”

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Rep. Khanna replied when asked what is the next step for Congress, “I think we take up this legislation in the house that says there will be no funding for the president to conduct offensive action against Iran or Iranian officials. And we should realize congress is not a bystander here. We have the power of the purse. The question is are we willing to use it? We could in the appropriations process say very clearly we’re not going to give funds for this kind of action. The challenge is that there are people who get scared. They say we don’t want to be seen weak on national security and so congress has punted traditionally to the executive branch. It’s time for Congress to act with the powers the founders gave us.”

Speaker Pelosi has already made her displeasure with Trump’s not consulting or briefing Congress before the attack known. It is very likely that Rep. Khanna is correct. The House is going to act on his legislation to block Trump from any funding for an offensive war with Iran.

The White House’s excuse of an imminent attack is their way of getting around any blockade of for offensive funding by the House.

The House of Representatives controls the purse strings. Mitch McConnell and the Senate can’t stop them from blocking the funding. If Trump tries to start a war with Iran, it is a certainty that the House will take action to prevent him from getting the US into what is estimated to be the deadliest war for American troops since Vietnam.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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